- The same companies send me the same things over and over again--to no avail.
- A tremendous amount of paper is wasted in the process, and they make me feel irresponsible for having to dispose of them (through recycling, of course).
This got me thinking... Is there still relevance in including snail mail in companies' promotional strategies? Does it have any benefit at all?
The obvious alternative to snail mail advertisements is promotional emails. The benefits of this medium is that paper can be taken out of the equation--there's no cost to the company for materials and paper is not wasted. This form is also instantaneous and can be sent to infinite amounts of people at the same time. However, the big shortfall of emails is that they are so easy to delete, especially when people receive so many of them in a day.
That said, mail ads could be beneficial in that people actually have to hold the ad in their hands before they discard it (whereas one doesn't even have to open/view emails). And because the mail ads are tangible objects and are mailed right to your door, it may feel more personal to the recipients and they may take a little more time looking it over.
What do you think? Do you think the way of the snail has passed, or is it still useful? Or another take on this: is it ethical for companies to unnecessarily waste paper now that email is so widely used?
For companies to send emails to customers, they would have to purchase email addresses from other companies or have customers agree to give them their email address their website or other form. For businesses to mail something out may be a large waste of paper, but it is inexpensive and easy. Businesses can find names and addresses by merely looking in a phone book (even though this would not be the most time efficient manner, the idea still stands).
ReplyDeleteI would rather get advertisements and promotions through mail that email. For me, I associate my email for more personal and important messages and to get flooded with promotions would irritate me more. I also don't see businesses stopping any time soon with their snail mail promotions as well as email promotions.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting topic! I agree with the previous comment that it is easy for companies to find home addresses and attempt to spark their customers' interest that way. Personally, if I receive a card in the mail advertising a sale at a store I shop at I may be more likely to keep it out to remind myself, yet with email I find that I'm more likely to delete it unless I'm 100% sure I'll go and I need a reminder. It's interesting to me because it's really the same ad, but it's my intent that determines how I will "dispose" of it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you guys after thinking about this a little more... It's definitely easier for companies and a more concrete way to get their message to consumers. But I still have a problem with the waste of paper. Maybe companies could find a way to make their emails more concrete to make it more effective and efficient!
ReplyDelete